Dr. Charles Barrell papers

Dr. Charles Barrell was born in Buckingham, Virginia, on March 21, 1909. He earned a B.A. in History from Hampden-Syndey College of Virginia in 1931; a M.A. in Political Science from the University of Virginia in 1932; and a Ph.D. in Political Science from the Ohio State University in 1938. He taught as an instructor at a few colleges including Oberlin College before being hired by Bowling Green State University in 1940. He taught political science from 1940 until his retirement in 1974. He was on leave between 1942 and 1946 when he served in the Army, first as a private, then corporal at the Anti-Aircraft Artillery School at Camp David, North Carolina, and then beginning February 1945, until his discharge in January 1946, as an officer in the Political Branch of Military Intelligence.

Throughout his life, Dr. Barrell was dedicated to serving both the University and the Bowling Green community. His academic career involved seventeen years as chairman of the Department of Political Science (1948-1965). He was involved in discussions about campus unrest at BGSU in the late 1950s and 1960s, both in shaping and criticizing the University's response. Some of his students went on to become important figures in state and local politics (see Charles Kurfess Papers, MS-26).

Barrell gave more than just students to the political process. He himself was heavily involved in the Bowling Green community. He was an active member of Kiwanis for over 30 years, and active in the Democratic Party, serving as an alternate from Ohio to the National Convention of 1964. He also served as a City Councilman from 1967 to 1981. On the Council, he worked to bring the Home Rule Charter to city government and was instrumental in developing a senior center and the post of city housing ombudsman. His career spanned important times in the history of the University and the City. He died on January 14, 1992.